Women by Number of Children Ever Born (Volume II, Part III - Subject Reports)

General

This report presents national, regional, and State statistics on the fertility of women in terms of their number of children ever born, by demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the women and their families. The statistics are based on samples of the population enumerated in the Eighteenth Decennial Census of Population, taken as of April 1, 1960. Most of the statistics are based on a 5-percent sample, but some are based on a 25-percent sample, and a few on a 4-percent sample, as specified in the headnotes of the tables.

Statistics on ever-married women of three childbearing age groups by number of children ever born may be found in chapter C of Parts 1 through 52 of 1960 Census of Population, Volume I, Characteristics of the Population, for the United States, each of the States, the District of Columbia, counties, standard metropolitan statistical areas, urbanized areas, and urban places of 10,000 or more. Chapter D of Volume I presents more extensive age detail than chapter C for women 15 years old and over by number of children ever born and also by number of own children under 5 years old, for States and their urban and rural parts, and for standard metropolitan statistical areas of 250,000 or more. Ratios of population under 5 years old to the total female population 15 to 49 years old are shown for a wide variety of areas in chapter B of Volume I.

Additional statistics on fertility by social and economic characteristics of the population appear in other PC(2) and PC(3) reports.

The report 1950 Census of Population, Volume IV, Special Reports, Part 5, chapter C, Fertility, presented national statistics on number of children ever born and on number of own children under 5 years old, for women by age, color, marital status, and urban-rural residence, in relation to duration of marriage, labor force status of the woman, years of school completed by the woman, and major occupation group of husband in the experienced civilian labor force. The report also presented data on children ever born for states and their urban and rural parts, and for persons of Spanish surname in five Southwestern States. An appendix presented material on quality of data.

Additional material on children ever born by duration of marriage was presented in 1950 Census of Population, Series PC-14, No. 22.

Data on fertility are occasionally published in Current Population Reports, Series P-20, usually at two- or three-year intervals. These data are based on the Current Population Survey, a monthly sample of about 35,000 households. For example, the report Series P-20, No. 108, "Marriage, Fertility, and Childspacing: August 1959," presents data on number of children ever born and also data on cumulative fertility at successive ages and marriage durations of cohorts of women in past years, derived from data on date of birth of each child and date of woman's first marriage.

The data based on the 5-percent sample presented here for the United States and regions were also tabulated for each State but not published. The unpublished data, which are on magnetic computer tape, can be made available on a reimbursable basis. Inquiries concerning unpublished data should be transmitted to the Bureau as soon as possible because tape records are not maintained indefinitely. Requests for unpublished data, giving a specific description of the figures desired may be made by writing to the Chief, Population Division, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C., 20233.

Some of the tables in the present report show data only for the United States, urbanized areas, and the South. Data for that part of the Nation outside urbanized areas and for the North and West (combined) can be derived by subtraction.